Published: March 18, 2009 |
Source:
Enermax |
Author:
James Napier
Enermax Liberty ECO 500w ATX PSU
Packaging & Appearance
There’s no better way to say ‘Eco’ than by use of the colour green and therefore it’s no surprise that Enermax have chosen this to be the primary colour of the packaging used on the Liberty ECO. The front of the box keeps things plain and simple with a two-tone colour scheme and a picture of the unit, while the back of the box carries most of the information including the power distribution chart and graph showing the efficiency of the unit through the various load levels.
The sides of the box are also packed out with information too, with printed diagrams detailing how many connectors are included with each of the Liberty ECO models (400w, 500w & 600w), and a larger version of the power distribution chart for those who didn’t happen to have their glasses handy to read the one on the rear of the box.
Taking a look inside we can see that Enermax has placed the Liberty ECO inside a bubblewrap bag to protect it from scratches and minor damage. This is what I’d consider to be the ‘bare minimum’ protection for a PSU in transit, but considering that the Liberty ECO is aimed more at the mid-range market any elaborate packaging such as large styrofoam blocks and velor drawstring bags would just unneccesarily bump up costs.
As you’d expect for a 500w unit, the Liberty ECO is quite compact. Measuring in at 150x85x140mm there should be no issues fitting it in any smaller ATX cases and some HTPCs. The finish on the unit is a matte black powder coat with a rough textured surface. While this feels quite scratch resistant, it doesn’t carry the same aesthetic appeal as the gloss black and metallic gold flake finish of the original Liberty Series.
As a result of its compact size Enermax have been restricted to using a 120mm fan inside the unit. Had the unit have been a few mm longer Enermax could have pottentially shoe horned in a 135mm fan to help increase cooling performance much like on the Infiniti series. Of course, size isn’t everything so we’ll take a closer look at the make, model and specifications of the fan in a while.
One thing that certainly hasn’t changed throughout the entire Enermax PSU range is the use of gold fan grills. This seems to be somewhat of a tradition for Enermax, and although the ‘fake’ yellow gold look is something that is often classed as ‘tacky’ in recent years, it does give the Liberty ECO a sense of uniqueness.
Of course, as the saying goes “beauty is skin deep” so let’s move on to the next page where I whip out the screwdriver and attempt to get beneath the skin of this modest looking unit.
